Frontiers of robotic endoscopic capsules: a review

Digestive diseases are a major burden for society and healthcare systems, and with an aging population, the importance of their effective management will become critical. Healthcare systems worldwide already struggle to insure quality and affordability of healthcare delivery and this will be a significant challenge in the midterm future. Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE), introduced in 2000 by Given Imaging Ltd., is an example of disruptive technology and represents an attractive alternative to traditional diagnostic techniques. WCE overcomes conventional endoscopy enabling inspection of the digestive system without discomfort or the need for sedation. Thus, it has the advantage of encouraging patients to undergo gastrointestinal (GI) tract examinations and of facilitating mass screening programmes. With the integration of further capabilities based on microrobotics, e.g. active locomotion and embedded therapeutic modules, WCE could become the key-technology for GI diagnosis and treatment. This review presents a research update on WCE and describes the state-of-the-art of current endoscopic devices with a focus on research-oriented robotic capsule endoscopes enabled by microsystem technologies. The article also presents a visionary perspective on WCE potential for screening, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures

Bio-Inspired Multi-Spectral Imaging Sensors and Algorithms for Image Guided Surgery

Image guided surgery (IGS) utilizes emerging imaging technologies to provide additional structural and functional information to the physician in clinical settings. This additional visual information can help physicians delineate cancerous tissue during resection as well as avoid damage to near-by healthy tissue. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging (700 nm to 900 nm wavelengths) is a promising imaging modality for IGS, namely for the following reasons: First, tissue absorption and scattering in the NIR window is very low, which allows for deeper imaging and localization of tumor tissue in the range of several millimeters to a centimeter depending on the tissue surrounding the tumor. Second, spontaneous tissue fluorescence emission is minimal in the NIR region, allowing for high signal-to-background ratio imaging compared to visible spectrum fluorescence imaging. Third, decoupling the fluorescence signal from the visible spectrum allows for optimization of NIR fluorescence while attaining high quality color images. Fourth, there are two FDA approved fluorescent dyes in the NIR region—namely methylene blue (MB) and indocyanine green—which can help to identify tumor tissue due to passive accumulation in human subjects. The aforementioned advantages have led to the development of NIR fluorescence imaging systems for a variety of clinical applications, such as sentinel lymph node imaging, angiography, and tumor margin assessment. With these technological advances, secondary surgeries due to positive tumor margins or damage to healthy organs can be largely mitigated, reducing the emotional and financial toll on the patient. Currently, several NIR fluorescence imaging systems (NFIS) are available commercially or are undergoing clinical trials, such as FLARE, SPY, PDE, Fluobeam, and others. These systems capture multi-spectral images using complex optical equipment and are combined with real-time image processing to present an augmented view to the surgeon. The information is presented on a standard monitor above the operating bed, which requires the physician to stop the surgical procedure and look up at the monitor. The break in the surgical flow sometimes outweighs the benefits of fluorescence based IGS, especially in time-critical surgical situations. Furthermore, these instruments tend to be very bulky and have a large foot print, which significantly complicates their adoption in an already crowded operating room. In this document, I present the development of a compact and wearable goggle system capable of real-time sensing of both NIR fluorescence and color information. The imaging system is inspired by the ommatidia of the monarch butterfly, in which pixelated spectral filters are integrated with light sensitive elements. The pixelated spectral filters are fabricated via a carefully optimized nanofabrication procedure and integrated with a CMOS imaging array. The entire imaging system has been optimized for high signal-to-background fluorescence imaging using an analytical approach, and the efficacy of the system has been experimentally verified. The bio-inspired spectral imaging sensor is integrated with an FPGA for compact and real-time signal processing and a wearable goggle for easy integration in the operating room. The complete imaging system is undergoing clinical trials at Washington University in the St. Louis Medical School for imaging sentinel lymph nodes in both breast cancer patients and melanoma patients

Actuation Of Droplets Using Transparent Graphene Electrodes For Tunable Lenses And Biomedical Applications

Variable focal length liquid microlenses are the next candidate for a wide variety of applications. Driving mechanism of the liquid lenses can be categorized into mechanical and electrical actuation. Among different actuation mechanisms, EWOD is the most common tool for actuation of the liquid lenses. In this dissertation, we have demonstrated versatile and low-cost miniature liquid lenses with graphene as electrodes. Tunable focal length is achieved by changing both curvature of the droplet using electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) and applied pressure. Ionic liquid and KCl solution are utilized as lens liquid on the top of a flexible Teflon-coated PDMS/parylene membrane. Transparent and flexible, graphene allows transmission of visible light as well as large deformation of the polymer membrane to achieve requirements for different lens designs and to increase the field of view without damaging of electrodes. Another advantage of graphene compared to non-transparent electrodes is the larger lens aperture. The tunable range for the focal length is between 3 and 7 mm for a droplet with a volume of 3 μL. The visualization of bone marrow dendritic cells is demonstrated by the liquid lens system with a high resolution (more than 456 lp/mm). The Spherical aberration analysis is performed using COMSOL software to investigate the optical properties of the lens under applied voltages and pressure. We propose a prototype of compound eye with specific design of the electrodes using both tunable lenses and tunable supporting membrane. The design has many advantages including large field of view, compact size and fast response time. This work maybe applicable in the development of the next generation of cameras, endoscopes, cell phones on flexible platform. We also proposed here the design and concept of self-powered wireless sensor based on the graphene radio-frequency (RF) components, which are transparent, flexible, and monolithically integrated on biocompatible soft substrate. We show that a quad-ring circuit based on graphene transistors may simultaneously offer sensing and frequency modulation functions. This battery-free and transparent sensors based on newly discovered 2D nanomaterials may benefit versatile wireless sensing and internet-of-things applications, such as smart contact lenses/glasses and microscope slides

Surveying trends in analogy-inspired product innovation

Analogies play a well-noted role in innovative design. Analogical reasoning is central to the practices of design-by-analogy and bio-inspired design. In both, analogies are used to derive abstracted principles from prior examples to generate new design solutions. While numerous laboratory and classroom studies of analogy usage have been published, relatively few studies have systematically examined real-world design-by-analogy to describe its characteristics and impacts. To better teach design-by-analogy and develop support tools for engineers, specific insights are needed regarding, for example, what types of product advantages are gained through design-by-analogy and how different design process characteristics influence its outcomes. This research comprises two empirical product studies which investigate analogical inspiration in real-world design to inform the development of new analogy methods and tools. The first, an exploratory pilot study of 57 analogy-inspired products, introduces the product study method and applies several categorical variables to classify product examples. These variables measure aspects such as the composition of the design team, the driving approach to analogical reasoning, and the achieved benefits of using the analogy-inspired concept. The full scale study of 70 analogy-inspired products uses formal collection and screening methods and a refined set of classification variables to analyze examples. It adopts a cross-sectional approach, using statistical tests of association to detect relationships among variables. Combined, these surveys of real-world analogy-inspired innovation inform the development of analogy tools and provide a general account of distant analogy usage across engineering disciplines. The cross-sectional product study method demonstrated in this work introduces a valuable tool for investigating factors and impacts of real-world analogy usage in design.M.S

Magnetically Driven Micro and Nanorobots

Manipulation and navigation of micro and nanoswimmers in different fluid environments can be achieved by chemicals, external fields, or even motile cells. Many researchers have selected magnetic fields as the active external actuation source based on the advantageous features of this actuation strategy such as remote and spatiotemporal control, fuel-free, high degree of reconfigurability, programmability, recyclability, and versatility. This review introduces fundamental concepts and advantages of magnetic micro/nanorobots (termed here as "MagRobots") as well as basic knowledge of magnetic fields and magnetic materials, setups for magnetic manipulation, magnetic field configurations, and symmetry-breaking strategies for effective movement. These concepts are discussed to describe the interactions between micro/nanorobots and magnetic fields. Actuation mechanisms of flagella-inspired MagRobots (i.e., corkscrew-like motion and traveling-wave locomotion/ciliary stroke motion) and surface walkers (i.e., surface-assisted motion), applications of magnetic fields in other propulsion approaches, and magnetic stimulation of micro/nanorobots beyond motion are provided followed by fabrication techniques for (quasi)spherical, helical, flexible, wire-like, and biohybrid MagRobots. Applications of MagRobots in targeted drug/gene delivery, cell manipulation, minimally invasive surgery, biopsy, biofilm disruption/eradication, imaging-guided delivery/therapy/surgery, pollution removal for environmental remediation, and (bio)sensing are also reviewed. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives for the development of magnetically powered miniaturized motors are discussed

Micro/Nano Manufacturing

Micro manufacturing involves dealing with the fabrication of structures in the size range of 0.1 to 1000 µm. The scope of nano manufacturing extends the size range of manufactured features to even smaller length scales—below 100 nm. A strict borderline between micro and nano manufacturing can hardly be drawn, such that both domains are treated as complementary and mutually beneficial within a closely interconnected scientific community. Both micro and nano manufacturing can be considered as important enablers for high-end products. This Special Issue of Applied Sciences is dedicated to recent advances in research and development within the field of micro and nano manufacturing. The included papers report recent findings and advances in manufacturing technologies for producing products with micro and nano scale features and structures as well as applications underpinned by the advances in these technologies

Miniaturisation de lentilles grand angle

La miniaturisation des systèmes optiques, notamment des systèmes grand angle, est un sujet d’actualité qui revêt une grande importance. La réduction en taille des composantes optiques permet l’intégration de caméras dans une plus vaste gamme d’applications. Une amélioration constante des techniques de production ont permis jusqu’à présent de grandes avancées dans le domaine de la miniaturisation, mais aujourd’hui d’autres techniques doivent être développées dans le but de miniaturiser d’avantage. Le but de ce projet de doctorat est d’adapter et de développer des techniques de miniaturisation applicables à des systèmes optiques grand angle. À travers l’étude des diverses techniques de miniaturisation, la lentille repliée joint à l’imagerie à fovéa et la correction d’aberration via l’imagerie plénoptique ont été retenus comme candidats permettant la miniaturisation de caméra grand angle. Le Chapitre 3 dresse un portrait global des différentes avenues empruntées dans la littérature permettant la miniaturisation de système optique. Une courte description des techniques est présentée ainsi que les raisons pour lesquelles certaines furent écartées. Un design original d’endoscope miniature grand angle est présenté au Chapitre 4, de même que l’ensemble du processus de conception et de tolérancement. L’utilisation d’un repli dans le système permet de réduire la taille effective du système. L’utilisation de l’imagerie à fovéa est utilisée afin de contrôler le grandissement dans les régions d’intérêts. Deux versions de l’endoscope présentant des variations différentes de leur lfl sont analysées. Il est montré qu’un contrôle actif de la distorsion au moment du design peut permettre de maintenir les performances d’un système optique dans certaines régions clés du champ de vue tout en réduisant le nombre d’éléments qui le compose. Un algorithme de reprojection économe permettant de reconstruire une image plénoptique aberrée est présenté au Chapitre 5. Il est montré, à travers des simulations, qu’il est possible de corriger des aberrations présentes dans un système optique. Les cas monochromatiques, polychromatiques et grand angle furent abordés et corrigés avec succès. Il a aussi été démontré que l’algorithme de correction n’amplifiait pas le bruit présent dans les images d’origines. Finalement, un prototype simple de caméra plénoptique a été conçu et testé en laboratoire.The miniaturization of optical systems, particularly wide-angle systems, is a subject of great importance. The reduction in size of optical components allows the integration of cameras in a wider range of applications. Even though continuous improvements in production techniques have led to great advances in the field of miniaturization, new techniques have to be developed in order to further miniaturize. The aim of this PhD project is to adapt and develop miniaturization techniques applicable to wide-angle optical systems. Through the study of various miniaturization techniques, the folded lens joined to foveated imaging and the correction of aberration via plenoptic imaging were retained as candidates allowing the miniaturization of wide-angle camera. Chapitre 3 gives an overall picture of the various avenues used in the literature for the miniaturization of optical systems. A short description of the techniques is presented as well as the reasons why some were discarded. An original miniature wide-angle endoscope design is presented in Chapitre 4, as well as the entire design and tolerancing process. The use of a fold in the system reduces the effective size of the system. Foveated imaging is used to control magnification in areas of interest. Two versions of the endoscope with different variations of their lfl are analyzed. It is shown that active control of distortion at during design can maintain the performance of an optical system in certain key regions of the field of view while reducing the number of elements that compose it. A reprojection algorithm for reconstructing an aberrated plenoptic image is presented in Chapitre 5. It is shown, through simulations, that it is possible to correct aberrations present in an optical system. Monochromatic, polychromatic and wide angle cases were successfully addressed and corrected. It was also demonstrated that the correction algorithm do not amplify the noise present in the original image. Finally, a simple prototype of a plenoptic camera was designed and tested in the laboratory